1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a straddle type vehicle in which a foot rest is disposed on a front portion side of the crankcase of an engine and the rotational axis of a brake pedal is disposed near the foot rest.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there has been known a straddle type vehicle in which a foot rest is disposed on a front portion side of the crankcase of an engine and the rotational axis of a brake pedal is disposed near the foot rest.
A braking device of the straddle type vehicle is arranged such that a master cylinder is fixed above the brake pedal disposed near the foot rest, a pressurization section of the master cylinder and a turnable operation section provided in the brake pedal are connected by a connecting rod, and a hydraulic pressure of the master cylinder is transmitted to a body of the braking device that is provided in a rear wheel.
During a braking operation, pressing the brake pedal causes the turnable operation section thereof to rotate, the rotation of the turnable operation section causes the connecting rod to move in its axial direction to thereby pressurize the pressurization section of the master cylinder, and hydraulic pressure of the master cylinder causes the body of the braking device to actuate whereby braking of the rear wheel is effected.
In many straddle type vehicles, a brake switch that is capable of mechanically detecting an axial movement of the connecting rod is disposed near the connecting rod, and when the body of the braking device is actuated, a brake lamp provided at the rear portion of the straddle type vehicle is lit up through the brake switch.
In such straddle type vehicles, since the brake lamp should be lit up at a time when braking of the rear wheel begins, a specified moment in the movement of the connecting rod needs to be detected accurately by the brake switch.
However, the turnable operation section of the brake pedal turns about the rotational axis of the brake pedal. Therefore, during the turning movement of the brake pedal, the connecting rod swings about the fixed master cylinder as a fulcrum while moving in the axial direction, so that axial movement of the connecting rod cannot be detected easily by the brake switch mechanically with high accuracy.
Therefore, in Japanese Utility Model Hei 4-31188 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 1), a yoke for connecting a push rod as a connecting rod and a turnable operation section of a brake pedal is arranged such that the push rod is formed with an axial mounting hole and a brake switch is attached to the push rod, whereby the axial movement can be detected reliably and accurately even if the push rod swings.
However, in such a conventional structure around the brake switch, the master cylinder and the brake switch are disposed near the brake pedal. In a straddle type vehicle such as a so-called American type motorcycle in which a foot rest is provided on a front portion side of the crankcase, the master cylinder, the brake switch and the like are likely to be exposed to the front of the vehicle and visible from the outside, raising a problem of lowering the quality of external appearance of the straddle type vehicle.
In addition, in a vehicle in which the brake switch is attached to the yoke of the connecting portion between the connecting rod and the turnable operation section of the brake pedal as described in the above-described Patent Document 1, numerous functions are given to the yoke, so that the structure is complicated.